U.S. not interested in politics
At first, one might have agreed with U.S. World Cup team players, who insisted that the political significance of its game against Iran was being blown out of proportion. But in the last week, President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeline Albright said they are seeking more normalized relations between the two countries and that Sunday’s game is a good place to start taking a step in that direction. Suddenly, the importance of the game has moved well beyond the field. Still, U.S. players and coach Steve Sampson said they are not interested in or distracted by the political ramifications of the game. “Players and coaches are trying to keep this a sporting event,” Sampson said. “Maybe through sport we can accomplish something good. But it is not our objective. Our objective is to beat them.” Many players echoed that sentiment, saying their biggest concern is to win and gain crucial points in Group F standings. “We want to win this game for all the right reasons — the three points,” said forward Eric Wynalda. “They have said that they will give us everything they have got and we plan to do the same.” Alexi Lalas said it is important to keep proper perspective on the game. “You don’t want to put the pressure on yourself of playing for your government and the future of relations between the two countries,” he said. “To us, all it is a soccer game, nothing more.” He added: “I hope they are playing for history and all that stuff because that puts more pressure on them.” Captain Thomas Dooley said he wasn’t interested in the political history of the two countries. “I don’t want to talk about what happened 20 years ago,” he said, referring to the Iran hostage crisis of 1979. “We came to play soccer. We are looking forward to exchanging jerseys with them.” Frankie Hejduk, 23, said he is too young to remember anything about the crisis. “I was four years old then. It wasn’t really on my mind. I think that’s when I first grabbed my surfboard. That’s all that was on my mind. And recess,” said Hejduk.
Changes on the way After the poor showing against Germany, Sampson will be making changes for Sunday’s game against Iran. He says there could be as many as five different starters. Though he continues to keep his starting lineup a secret, two changes are certain: Tab Ramos and Frankie Hejduk will be on the field at the start of the game. As far as tactical changes, a U.S. player confirmed that Sampson will start two forwards. Forward Roy Wegerle said he supports the change, which is designed to provide more offense. “I think it’s a great idea,” he said. After Monday’s game against Germany, Eric Wynalda, the lone U.S. forward in Sampson’s 3-6-1 formation, complained that he needed more help. It looks like his request has been answered. While lineup and formation changes will be made, Sampson said more important changes must come from the players themselves. “Regardless of the system, the attitude has to be different,” he said. “We have to start quickly and aggressively.”
Team Schedule Sunday, June 21
9:00 p.m. USA vs. Iran at Gerland Stadium in Lyon (live on ABC, 2:30 pm ET) Monday, June 22
12:00 p.m. Charter flight departs Lyon for Nantes.
1:10 p.m. Arrive at Nantes airport.
5:30 p.m. Players and coaches available for interviews at Hotel Pornic (tentative).
6:30 p.m. Team departs for open training session in Pornic (tentative). Tuesday, June 23
10:00 a.m. Players depart for training session in Pornic.
1:30 p.m. Preki Radosavljevic and Milutin Soskic meet with media at Hotel Pornic.
2:00 p.m. Steve Sampson meets with media at Hotel Pornic.
